Method of casting ball integral with the ink feed section of a ball point pen



L. H. CASTI SECTION MORIN ET AL 2,861,333 NG BALL INTEGRAL WITH THE OF A BALL POINT PEN Nov. 25, 1958 METHOD OF INK FEED 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5,-1956 guy Z ////////l INVENTOR.

LOUIS H. M OTTO GRIE A TTORNEY.

Nov. 25, 1958 H. MORINQ ETAL 2,861,333

METHOD OF CASTING BALL INTEGRAL WITH THE 'INK FEED sEcTToN OF A BALL POINT PEN Filed Oct. 5, 1956 I 2 Sheets-SheetZ g T fi' Mg" 5 1 45 Q k 3? TE 1 K39 I -38 '7 23 v /0 g Z9 32 27' &

INVENTOR. LOUIS H-MORIN OTTO eRzEs BY v ATTORNEY Louis H; Morin, Bronx, and OttoGries,

United States Patent Patented Nov. 25, 1958 .METHOD OF CASTING BALL WITH THE INK FEED'SECTION OF A BALL PEN New Rochelle, N.'Y.;-sa id Otto'Gries, assignor to Coats & Clark 111%, New York, N. Y., -a:corpration of'Delaware Application 0ct0berf5,'1956, Serial No. 614,157 4:01am ciao-s27 ferenfcharacteristics.

Iherrovel' features offthe-invention will be best understood from the follo'win'gdescription, when-'takentogether with the accompanying drawing, injwh ich certain embodime'ntsof. the invention are disclosed and, in which, the 'separate"p'arts' are 'designated "by suitable reference charactersin cachet the views'and, in which:

' "Pig. '1' is an enlargedsectional' view -of a-section'made .according to myjnvention, indicating part of the cartridge -'to which 'the section is attached-in 'dot-da'sh' lines.

Fig. .2 is a sectional 'viewthrough apair of dies, show- Ti'ngan inkffeed section castwith an integral ball within the .end of the section-and indicating.diagrammatically,

:part of thehall delivery mechanism.

7 =Fi'g. 3'is a view, similar 'to"Fig.'2, showing the. upper dieiin raised position, preparatory to freeing the casting from the dies for movement .to-a t'rimmingsta'tion.

.. Fig. 4.is a view, similar to Fig. 3., showing :both' of the dles-[freed {from-the-cast or. moulded product, with the latter still in the casting position.

;Fig. 5 is a view, similar to Fig. 4, diagrammatically Eillustrating the trimming of .the product at a trimmingsta- .ftion to oneside of thedies and also illustrating diagrammatically a forming operation performed .at said station. v Fig; 6 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, diagrammatically illustrating the delivery of-aball to the cavity of the dies,

preparatory to injection of the casting material into' the dies, as illustrated-in Fig.2; and

Fig. 7 is a face view of a modified form of die conestruction-Whichcan be employed.

-'acoordingl-to our invention, namely the ink feed section '10, which comprises a :large diameter portion 11, a smaller diameter lower portion 12, the portions 11 and 12 vhavingregistering bores 13 and 14, respectively, the bore d=4- beingfslightly smaller in diameter than the bore 13, the'elatter 'bore 14 having an :in'kffeed discharge passage 15 having direct contact with a writing element in the form ofa ball :16 held in :position by a contracted end -'=17.- The seat 18 for thepball is fashioned by a forming op'eration, later described, to control flow of Link to the surface of the ball to provide the required feed with inks having'difierent characteristics or viscosities.

-' in Fig. lot the drawing, we have indicated at 19, in

bled upon the enlarged tubular end portion 11-of' the section 10. It will be noted that the upper end of the large diameter portion 11 is bevelled, as seen at- 20, which facilita-tes assemblage of the section with the cartridge 19.

Turning now to-Figs. 2 mo, inclusive, in these figures 21 -and;22 diagrammatic-ally. illustrate a pair of dies which, for purposes-of description, can be identified as upper and lower dies, respectively. These dies collectively form, by registering impression cavities 23 and 24, the cavity of the dies forming the resulting :end product,

namely the ink feedsection-10 which is showninsection. The cavities 23 and-24 join on the partingline 25 of the dies, which parting line forms the shoulder 26'between the end portionslil and 12 of the-section 10. It will be noted, inthis connection, that thezsprue or inlet gate 27 is formed, for the most part, in the die 21, so that thecontracted end'of the'passage, as ,at 28, ispositioned only' above the parting line 25. This results in "leaving a clean'lower'surface to the shoulder2'6 in the trimmingoperation, as'wi'lhapp'ea'r from a consideration At 29 is diagrammatically shown the injection nozzle,

through which suitable moulding or casting material is .pressurefinjected int'o'the die cavity'from a suitable source of supply and, While difierentm'ateria'ls might be used; it is preferred that. a tin. alloy .be used in order to resist the action. of many types and kinds 'of'in'ks; Turning now to the opposed side ofth'e die, herethe diessare recessed on adjacent'sur'f'aces to receive a transfer core pin 3t? whi'chextends'into 'an' enlarged portion 31 in the dies, which forms a collar or transfer hub '32 on the-end of the-pin and, here'a'gain, a .contract'ed por- .tion 331s disposed only'in the die 21, similar to the con- 'tracted" portion 28, .to result in the clean trimming, .as referred to above. From theforegoing, itwill be apparent that, in pres- .sure injecting the moulding or casting material into the die cavity,-. the cast. collar portion-3.2 .is simultaneously formed on the .pin 30 so that, when the-dies, are separated, as noted inFig. 4., the casting can be movedtoa trimming and forming stationat-one side of the dies, as noted 'in Fig. 5, at which station a formingoperation, later described,..is performed .and the casting .is trimmed.

dotedash lines,..part:of the .ink cartridge which is assem- I The lower end of the cavity .24-of the die. 22 hasa contractedportion 34 forming. the contracted end 17,

noted. inFig. 1 of the drawing, and this contracted portion terminates ina shoulder 35 bordering. a concaved ball receivingrecess v36, into which-a ball 16 is. dropped by the medium of a delivery member, diagrammatically shown at 37 The ball delivery is illustrated in. Eig...6 of the drawing, in. which figure the member .37 .is disposed directly .above the .die cavity, including .the bore 38 opening .into the-upper end of said cavity. .It. willfb'e noted that the upper end of the bore 38 has. a conical or flared portion 39, which facilitates movement of .a core pin 40 into the cavity, as well as the dropping of the ball 16 into the cavity from the member 37. The member37 .is movable into delivery and .non-delivery positions, as noted in the several views and, while at the delivery position, a discharge latch'41 is intermittently rotated to free one of the balls 16 by withdrawal gjection has a rounded lower end. 47 to set upon the-ball transfer pin 30. It is also preferred that suitable backup means, not shown, will be provided to resist the action of the forming member 48, it being understood that no great degree of force is necessary to perform the desired forming operation, bearing in mind that the metal is still in a warm state while positioned at said station.

.Action of the member 48 upon the ball 16 cast in the movement upon the ball 16 when the cast product is .positioned at the trimming station and supported by the section 10 is to provide the predetermined clearance at the upper spherical surface of the ball to control and regulate the flow of ink to the ball for delivery to the lower surface of the ball in performing the writing operation. This operation also frees the ball to the required degree for proper operation for smooth easy writing with any desired ink. It is pointed out, at this time,

that no attempt is made to show the clearance in the accompanying drawing for the reason that the clearance is slight.

Turning now to Fig. 7 of which have a vertical parting line 51, instead of the horizontal parting line 25 noted in Fig. 2 of the drawing. This is simply illustrated to show that, in some inthe drawing, we have here indicated diagrammatically, in part, two dies 49 and 50' stances, it might be desirable to form the resulting cast .product with this type of die structure, the only ditficulty being that slight markings might prevail on the outer peripheral surfaces of the upper and lower tubular portions 11 and 12 of the resulting product and this is obviated by maintaining the parting line in alinement with the shoulder 26, as noted in the other figures. With the structure of Fig. 7, it will be apparent that the admission sprue or gate passage 27 will be at a higher point on the dies, as noted at 27" in Fig. 7, and this will also be true of the location of the transfer pin, indicated in dotted lines at 30' in Fig. 7, otherwise, the structure of the dies 49 and will be the same as the dies shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, and, for this reason, no further detailed description is deemed to be necessary.

The method will be readily understood from a con-' sideration of Figs. 2 to 6, inclusive, the first step being to deliver a ball 16 to rest upon the seat 36 in the lower die 22, as noted in Fig. 6 of the drawing, in the manner previously described; whereupon, the member 37 is moved out of alinement with the aperture 38 and the core pin 40 is then moved down into the die cavities into engagement with the ball 16, as noted in Fig. 2 of the drawing; whereupon, the nozzle 29 will be held in pressure engagement with the closed dies and the moulding or casting material injected into the cavities to form the complete casting, as clearly noted in Fig. 2, after which, the core 40 is then moved into the raised position, shown in Fig. 3, and the upper die 21 also raised, leaving the casting momentarily supported on the lower die 22 and the core pin 30 with the nozzle, 29 moved away from the dies; whereupon, the lower die 22 is moved into the position shown in Fig. 4; thus leaving the casting supported upon the pin 30 and free for movement to the casting and forming station, which is to the left of the dies, as noted in Fig. 5 of the drawing. Then the forming tool 48 is moved upwardly against the backed cast product for the purposes previouslyv stated and, then, the product is trimmed to remove the gate or sprue part 27' and the sleeve part 32, the latter being stripped from the pin 30 and the result of this trimming operation is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 5. The trimmed parts 27', 32 are dropped into a suitable receptacle, not shown, whereas, the finished trimmed product, namely the ink 4 feed section or nib 10,is dropped into another receptacle, suitable means, not shown, being provided at the trimming and forming station to control these separate delivery or collection of the parts.

It will be understood that the curved recess 36 projects beyond the end of the cavity proper by virtue of the seating of the ball in this recess and, from this standpoint, it can be said that the recess projects beyond the cavity'of the die.

The element 16'may be generally referred to as a marking or writing element inthe sense that any type and kind of a flowable material .contained in the feed section can be transmitted or transferred in rotation of the element to dispose the material on an outer surface of the element to be applied to lanysllrface engaged by the element. From this standpoint, it will be apparent that devices of the type and kind under consideration can be used in conjunction with various types and kinds of materials that are subject to usage as described and the illustration and descriptive use herein given is only by way of illustratingone adaptation and use of the invention. In the several other uses that may be had, the shape, contour and size of the section will, of course, vary, the dies being made to suit the different shapes and forms which are desired. However, in all instances, the marking element will be, in part, exposed at one end of the section and also exposed to the interior or bore of the tubular section.

Further,in connection with varied uses, it will be understood that the section can be moulded from any type and kind of metal or metal alloy or from various types and kinds of plastics, the latter being true as and when the material employed 'will have no detrimental efiect upon the particular plastics or metal used.

It will be noted in',Figs. 2, 3 and 6 of the drawing that a small recess or aperture36 extends from the base of the seat 36 and the purpose of this aperture is to cause the,casting material to extend thereinto, in the event that a ball should not be positioned in the die cavity, as illustrated in Fig. 6 of-the drawing, and, thereafter, a cast section or nib formed. The resulting protruding portion of the casting formed by the recess 36' would clearly indicate, by what might be termed a flag, to the operator that a ball had not been positioned in the casting and, thus, the casting can be rejectedor handled as other scrap or trimmings of the machine would be handled. It will be understood in this connection that, if the recess 36' were not employed, a rounded east end would appear on the resulting product which might similate the presence of a ball.

.With my improved method, it will be apparent that any variations which may prevail in the size of the preformed ball or other marking element will be automatically compensated for by reason of the moulding or casting of the tubular section or nib upon the element which is deposited in the die cavity. By virtue of this fact, a more positive and definite control of flow of the material contained in the section or nib is provided in anyparticular run of successive castings produced from elements which are presumably to be of a common size.

Having duly described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The herein described method of producing a tubular device having a ball positioned at and protruding beyond one end of said device, which comprises positioning a ball at one end portion of the cavity of a pair of relatively movable dies with said ball seating in a recess extending beyond the limits of said cavity, supporting the ball in the cavity by a core pin positioned centrally of the cavity and defining the bore of a tubular section to be formed in said cavity, pressure injecting heated moulding material into the die cavity around said pin and that part of said ball'exposed to the cavity, forming by said core pin, a passage placing the bore of the section in direct communication with that part of the ball exposed to said passage for the transfer of a flowable material contained in the bore of the section to the surface of the ball exposed at the end of the section in rotation of the ball in said section, and shaping that part of the section in which the ball is arranged to provide free rotation of the ball and passage of the flowable material over the surface of said ball.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the recess seat for the ball includes an extended aperture exposed to the die cavity, whereby, in the event that a ball is not deposited in said recess and a pressure injection of moulding material is introduced into the die cavity, a protruding cast flag will be formed on the resulting casting extending beyond the normal limits of a ball to indicate formation of an improper casting.

3. Method of forming a nib of a ball pen with a ball therein which comprises arranging a ball at and projecting beyond one end of a mold cavity of a pair of relatively movable dies, arranging a core pin in said cavity and positioning the pin to engage said ball within said cavity, arranging a transfer means in the dies, pressure-injecting heated molding material through a gate passage into the die cavity around said core pin, transfer means and that part of said ball exposed in the cavity, withdrawing said core pin, separating the dies to free the molded product, moving said product with the aid of said transfer means from the dies to a trimming and forming station, actuating said ball at the forming station to provide a predetermined clearance of the ball in said section and trimming the product in forming the resulting end product,

4. Method of forming a nib of a ball pen with a ball therein which comprises arranging a ball at and projecting beyond one end of a mold cavity of a pair of relatively movable dies, arranging a core pin in said cavity and positioning the pin to engage said ball within said cavity, arranging a transfer means within and between the dies, pressure-injecting heated molding material through a gate passage into the die cavity around said core pin, transfer means and that part .of said ball exposed in the cavity, Withdrawing said core pin, separating the dies to free the molded product, moving said product with the aid of said transfer means from the dies to a trimming and forming station where said trimming operation is performed, and actuating said ball, at said station, by controlled pressure to control clearance and feed of a flowable material through the section to the marking surface of said ball.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,919,540 Wulfert July 25, 1933 1,976,058 Dilg Oct. 9, 1934 1,983,558 Morin et al Dec. 11, 1934 2,042,541 Marinsky June 2, 1936 2,387,013 Fuller Oct. 16, 1945 2,690,004 Crawford Sept. 28, 1954 2,725,719 Springmeir Dec. 6, 1955 

